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I currently hold an M.S. in Multicultural Studies in Education. I am pursuing a Principal Certification in order to increase my career options and possibly become a Director of Curriculum and Instruction or Bilingual/ESL Education.

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After interviewing Dr. Don Beck, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in Channelview ISD, I became aware of a few prominent ethical and legal issues faced by administrators in Texas schools. Dr. Beck also informed me of helpful internet sites for further research.
The top five things I learned from Dr. Beck include the following:
1. The internet site, Texasisd.com, has up-to-date news and headlines for Texas School Officials, as well as the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB) website. Other sources of legal policies and/or rules are Moak, Casey & Associates and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) website (D. Beck, personal communication, August 21, 2018).
2. In general, leaders in curriculum and instruction deal with different types of legal and ethical issues than what school principals and other district administrators encounter daily. School safety, teachers carrying guns, and social media use by teachers and students are recent legal and ethical issues affecting the entire school community (D. Beck, personal communication, August 21, 2018).
3. One current legal issue that impacts curriculum and instruction is the new school accountability system in Texas. School principals rely on district leaders to carefully review the new information and accurately pass it on to the campus principals (D. Beck, personal communication, August 21, 2018).
4. The main sources of legal requirements for Texas schools are the Texas Administrative Code (TAC) and the Texas Education Code (TEC).
5.  There are specific ethical issues that come up that may differ from your personal beliefs and these must be taken into consideration to prevent personal bias in decision making with issues that surface with employees and students. These issues can certainly come up when it comes to personal and professional social media use by school officials (D. Beck, personal communication, August 21, 2018).

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On the website, Education Week, I discovered many recent articles in the Law and Courts section. One article that piqued my interest was the following:
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/07/27/nj-schools-sued-over-policies-preventing-immigrant.html

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As suggested by Dr Beck, I perused the website, Texasisd.com, and found multiple articles listed daily that pertained to current issues in education. One topic that is prevalent this week is school safety, and specifically those districts who have chosen to arm teachers. Here is the link to one article explaining the Governor's program and how schools are implementing it.

https://www.click2houston.com/news/more-school-districts-arming-teachers-staff

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Once article that caught my attention was found on the Education Week website entitled, N.J. Schools Sued Over Policies Preventing Immigrant Student Enrollment. The article was about the restrictive enrollment requirements for students in 12 school districts in New Jersey. The districts require a state issued form of identification for enrollment, which some parents or guardians will most likely not have if they are undocumented immigrants (Hefler, 2018). I chose this topic because of my work with undocumented students in the high school in which I previously worked. All students should have the opportunity to pursue an education and many times, students are brought to the United States illegally by their parents at a young age; a situation in which the child has no control over. Children have the right to enroll in public schools in order to further their education for a more secure financial future. I was also intrigued by the rule imposed by the New Jersey school districts and wondered how they could manage to get away with skirting enrollment of immigrant students and how school officials felt this practice was legal.

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Unauthorized Immigrant Students in the United States: The current state of affairs and the role of public education
http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.easydb.angelo.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=3&sid=f6c84e5b-cb0a-440d-b46b-1ef819c45eda%40pdc-v-sessmgr02&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU%3d#AN=edsgcl.492513001&db=edsggo

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Texas Association of School Boards
https://www.tasb.org/Home.aspx

Student Immigration Issues
https://www.tasb.org/services/legal-services/tasb-school-law-esource/students/documents/student_immigration_issues.pdf

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As educators, it is important to understand the legal rights all elementary and secondary students have to enroll in public schools in the United States, as well as the ethical obligations educators have to ensure their academic and psychosocial needs are met. Among the diverse students who enroll in public schools, one group are immigrant students, either authorized or unauthorized (Sulkowski, 2017). Unauthorized students in particular have specific needs and have certain rights under the law regarding enrollment practices in public schools (Texas Association of School Boards, 2017). Some issues affecting immigrant students are lower attendance, stress due to fear of deportation of family members or themselves being deported, and lower academic achievement because of lower levels of English language proficiency and gaps in previous education (Sulkowski, 2017). As an educator, it is important to know the rights of immigrant students, the additional stresses they may bring to school, and how to provide appropriate support to the students and their families.
Once specific way in which the law pertaining to immigrant students affects my future (hopeful) role as a Curriculum or Bilingual/ESL Director is to ensure that the school district is following the law when it comes to enrollment requirements for all students, as well as understanding the instructional implications for teaching immigrant students. The knowledge of how to best teach students coming from situations in which they may lack English proficiency, experience a stressful home and school environment, and need an adult advocate in the school is vital for all educators who come in contact with immigrant students. The district curriculum should be sensitive to these needs and address them in a variety of ways, such as using sheltered and multicultural instructional practices.
The school district may direct immigrant students to the Bilingual/ESL Director first to interpret records and determine the most appropriate grade and course placement for incoming students. It is important to understand the laws associated with immigrant students and ensure those who work with them also follow the law.

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                                                References

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                                                References

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Hefler, J. (2018, July 27). N.J. schools sued over policies preventing immigrant
student enrollment. Retrieved from
https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/07/27/nj-schools-sued
over-policies-preventing-immigrant.html
Sulkowski, M.L. (2017). Unauthorized immigrant students in the United States:
The current state of affairs and the role of public education. Children
and Youth Services Review (77), 62-68. doi:
10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.04.006
Texas Association of School Boards (TASB). (2017, December). Student
immigration issues in Texas public schools. Texas Association of School
Boards. Retrieved from: https://www.tasb.org/services/legal
services/tasb-school lawesource/students/documents/student_
immigration_issues.pdf